Code: Global Lyoko
by Tsiriu
Summary: It seems Lyoko stations are located all around the world, each with it's own new areas. Rating informations inside. Pairings:UlricYumi, JeremyAelita, OdSam, OCOC, OCOC.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Code: Lyoko original locations, characters, events, virtualization programs, vehicles, or enemies. I only, so far, own my six original characters: Locata, Kristin, Lari, Raylon, Kimi, and Tanaka. Their Lyoko programs will be explained in detail in the story. The names Kimi and Tanaka are the names for me and one of my friends in a story she's been writing. No, I doubt it will go on here.

Author: This is my first Lyoko fanfic, R&R plz. Sorry if I get a little ooc sometimes.

WARNING: There is language, violence, detailed battle, and detailed horror in this fanfiction. I'll still be staying as true as I can to the humor aspect though!

"Hey Lari, I'm getting a transmission from a person called Aelita. It says something about a place called Lyoko, as well coordinates a to bring a programmer skilled in VB with us. Sounds strange. Are we gonna chance it?" a tall, chubby boy said to a girl next to him. She was about as tall as he was, with long, brown hair, dark blue eyes, and the look of hatred in her eyes.

"Let's check it out, just bring a knife or two, just in case. Where are the coordinates pointing to?" she replied, grabbing her bag and putting a couple of martial arts knives in it.

"Some alley with a sewer manhole. It's in downtown. I say we bring our bikes. I think we'll be using the sewers. Aelita said to bring up to five friends. They can come later though. She said it's urgent." Tanaka said, looking down at his phone as it vibrated again.

"So I can come later then. See ya." Lari said, turning around.

"No, wait! I want you to come, in case, in case something happens. You know me, I'm a thinker, not a fighter. Please Lari?" Tanaka said quickly, his cheeks reddening slightly.

"Well, since you put it that way, sure. I'll come. Lead the way, thinker." Lari said, smiling. The two unlocked their bikes from the bike rack and rode off, quick as they could, to the downtown area of town.

"You said something about a manhole in an alley?" Tanaka said after he got the connection tone in his phone. He tracked the messages to a number and called, getting Aelita.

"Oh, is this the boy in America I texted? Yes. It should be in the alley right in front of you. Please be careful, X.A.N.A. has activated a tower here in Lyoko, affecting your world by putting some of his monsters in to guard your Lyoko Virtualization Station. There is only one other activated, that is the one in Japan. Do you have a Visual programmer with you?" Aelita said quickly.

"You're talking to him. I'm bringing my friend Lari with me. Now, where is this virtualization thing?" Tanaka replied, climbing down the ladder into the sewer. "Shit, that's gonna take a while to walk. Lari, put these on. We need to get there fast. That X.A.N.A. thing is gonna activate another tower in that Lyoko place, and that's supposed to be bad for us. I know it sounds like bull, but let's check it out anyway, I can hear battle in the background. Here, I'm putting you on speaker Aelita." Tanaka said, hitting a button on his phone as he clipped it to his belt.

"Okay, there should a tunnel coming up to your right, take it. You're moving quite fast, how are you doing that?" Aelita said as the two sped off.

"One of my creations, I'll show a picture later. Alright, we're at a fork, which way Aelita?" Tanaka said loudly, letting Lari know to slow down.

"Left, then keep going straight until you exit onto a road in front of an old building. Looks like it was once a church of some evil religion. There should be an elevator in wall behind a bloody altar. Take that down to the second to bottom floor. This will hook you up with the virtualization station, then go to the second floor and get on the computer. I'll talk to you through there. I gotta go, three more of XANA's freaks just appeared." Aelita said as rumbling could be heard in the background.

"Lari, keep going until you get to a satanic looking church, wait for me there!" Tanaka yelled, putting all of his energy into his leg muscles, accelerating greatly. "Go as fast as you possibly can!"

"Alright! See ya there!" Lari said as she zoomed past.

"Aelita, you'd better not be sending us on a wild goose chase!" Tanaka said as he leapt over a fallen tree.

In a minute the two met at the church, taking off the strange roller blades they used to get there.

"There should be an elevator behind this altar. Help me take this wall down!" Tanaka told Lari as he walked around the blood red altar.

"This place looks cool. I like it." Lari said as she walked next to Tanaka. He felt his stomach jump as she put her hand on his as they pushed the wall.

"Hello. What's a high-tech looking elevator doing in a old place like this?" Tanaka said.

"I have no idea. Let's go. What floor." Lari replied

"Second." Tanaka said. As soon as he finished, the elevator lurched downwards, making the two jump. The door seemed to be rusted open. They gasped as they saw the second floor: a giant computer with several screens, a Holoprojector showing a large map of some virtual world.

"Whoa. I've never seen this sorta stuff before! This place rocks!" Tanaka said loudly.

"Glad you like it. Come on, you need to make units for yourself and your friend here. Sit down and shut up Tanaka." Aelita said through the computer's comm.

"Hey! Whatever, now, what language does the unit structure have to be in? Tanaka said as he sat down.

"Yeah, Lari, you need to go to the floor below and, when I say so, and not before, flip the switch to activate the Eastern Lyoko network. Then get back into the elevator as fast as you can, go to the first floor of the Lyoko complex, and get inside one of the cylinders. They're called Scanners, just so you know. Now Tanaka, you need to scan Lari to get her physical stature perfect. She will appear on the screen just like a blank, human model. You will need to design her attire, weapons, armor, vehicles, and abilities. Everything but the attire and weapons will be done later though. Get to it, and please hurry up! I'm not usually like this, but I really need you to do this." Aelita said quickly as a visual of the area around her came on screen.

"Aelita and those three kids could use some help! Lari, I'm gonna scan you now! Close your eyes tight!" Tanaka said through the comm system. He typed frantically, making armor that's comfortable, protective, nonrestrictive, and suits Lari's dark personality. He moved on to the weapons, two chackrams and a longbow. "Done Aelita! How do I send her to Lyoko?"

"Hit 'apply and scan'. I'll lock her to my position! Remember: You only have one hundred life points Lari!" Aelita said, setting numerous different variables and inputting codes of a language even Tanaka had never seen.

"Ein hundert! Great. Alright, send me." Lari said, using German for the first bit. (Ein hundert means 100.)

"Virtualization: Lari!" Tanaka said loudly, activating the advanced vr system.

"Holy crap!"


	2. The Invasion

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original Code Lyoko characters, events, locations, vehicles, or virtualization programs. If I did, they would be much different. I do however, own Tanaka, Lari, Kimi, Kristin, Locata, and Raylon, their respective Virtualization programs, their vehicles, the location of the story (a small town in N.H.), and any events that are not flashbacks for the group from the anime.

Author: This should be interesting.

WARNING: This story will contain things little kids should not see. Mainly horror, I don't really do the whole sexual scene thing well.

_Personal Log: Tanaka, Saturday, October 8, 2005, 10:47 PM_

_It's been two years since we first found that station and met Aelita. Our Virtualization programs are finally totally finished, and we have deactivated millions of towers. According to the Eastern Lyoko unit, only Aelita can deactivate the towers, but we can as well. While Aelita is helping out the Eastern unit, we are over here in our side of Lyoko, beating down XANA's little goons. He may only activate towers over there in Japan, but here, he actually sends adequate protection for those towers. He's getting smarter, he's like a chess player, searching for every move and looking for each and every repercussion for each._

_Anyway, things have changed quite a bit in those two years. I'm not anywhere near the dark, cold kid I once was, thanks, in great part, to Lari. Sure, Kimi and Kristin helped a lot, but it was, again, mainly Lari. She has grown to be a beautiful young woman, and stronger, in the real world, then all of us. But even she was no match for XANA's real plan. Speaking of XANA-----_

"LARI! WE"VE GOT TONS OF COMPANY! XANA must have activated another thirty towers or something! Contact Lyoko East and inform them of our situation!" Tanaka yelled as his bed went flying, him with it.

"I'M KINDA TIED UP HERE!" Lari yelled, beating off several small, four legged beetles with single, red eyes.

"LARI! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Tanaka yelled as he grabbed his sister's baton and bashed the living Hell out of them. "Are you alright Lari?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've never seen you like that before Tanaka, something up?" Lari said, her eyes sad with worry.

"HELLO! We just had thirty of XANA's little friends pop into our world! Of course something's up! We need to get to the church, we're the strongest of the group in Lyoko. We'll meet Lyoko East in the Desert region." Tanaka said as he picked up his phone and opened it. "Aelita! We've got tons of company! Have Lyoko East meet us in the transport tower in the Desert region! Are there any activated towers?"

"Oh yeah! I'm picking up pulsations from at least five towers, each on different regions! XANA's going all out it seems! Please hurry Tanaka, you to Lari!" Aelita said loudly, making Tanaka hold the phone away from his ear.

"Oh shit! Sorry for ordering you around Lari, but we gotta get the Hell moving!" Tanaka yelled, throwing his bike off the porch.

"Alright! The church?" Lari asked.

"Yep, here, call Raylon and tell him to get those lazy-assed cops of our off their damn chairs and into the streets! And tell them to shoot to kill! Better yet, call them and tell them that! I swear, we have the worst cop division in the damn country!" Tanaka yelled as he jumped off the second-story porch, cringing at the pain in his right knee. "Damn car crash! Damn him even more for taking her from me!"

"What Tanaka?" Lari asked loudly.

"Nothing, just go!" he yelled.

"What's going on Raylon? Is there an activated tower?" Kristin asked groggily, getting off her couch.

"FIVE! Oh boy. We need to help the police! Grab that broom and let's go!" Raylon said as he grabbed the flag Kristin used for Color Guard.

"Don't break it!" she yelled. Looking outside, she saw the large amount of monsters that XANA sent out of Lyoko, not through the Church. "Oh my god!"

"Uh, Kimi, you might wanna take a look outside." Locata said, his eyes wide.

"Huh? Why? OH MY GOD! There's so many! Come on, we need to raid the gun store around the corner!" Kimi yelled, not even bothering to put on her shoes. She stilled had her karate uniform on when she bursted into the gun shop. "You see those thing outside? We need to get four pistols, two rifles, and two automatics! Come on! Those things will not hesitate to kill us! After all this is done we will pay for all the ammo." Kimi yelled at the cashier, who was beating one of the freaks off with a combat knife.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that! I run a damn gun shop! Here, take what you need, don't bother paying! JUST KILL THESE THINGS!" the owner yelled, grabbing the .45 caliber Beretta pistol taped to the underside of the counter.

"Thanks! Come on Kimi, I know guns like you know Karate!" Locata yelled, grabbing guns off of the shelves. He snapped a laser sight to two pistols and shoved them through Kimi's belt. Putting tactical lights on his two pistols, he put them in his pockets and grabbed an eight-gauge shotgun.

"That's a bit big don't you think Locata?" Kimi said nervously. He looked like a mass murderer with that huge weapon in his hands.

"For this job, I need one of these. Take a rifle and let's go!" he yelled back, already running out the door, blasting at a group of tightly packed monsters.

"Tanaka, aren't you coming?" Lari said as she stepped out of the elevator into the scanner room.

"I've got to start the virtualization protocols, Aelita's a bit busy right now. I'll meet you there. Go!" Tanaka yelled, mashing on the emergency release button.

"Tanaka, you'd better meet me!" Lari yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll be there shortly after you get in. I'll be virtualizing our best assault vehicles. Lyoko East already has their vehicles out." Tanaka said as the door closed with a bang.

"Aelita! What's the situation?"

"We can't get to the transport tower! We're in the forest region and we're pinned down at the transport tower, but it's been tampered with! We need you to get out here and repair the broken code, XANA has made it so only you can get in! He's planning something, be careful!" Aelita said quickly, panting.

"I'm picking up something large heading right for you! I've never seen it before, it's got several, clear tentacles, and the head is translucent. It's got XANA's insignia on it, gotta go!" Tanaka yelled, typing furiously.

"Lari! Destination's been changed to the Forest region's Transport Tower! We'll appear inside there, but we will be a bit distorted until I deactivate XANA's virus! Don't leave the tower, I repeat, do not leave the Forest Transport Tower!" Tanaka yelled into the communications link. He bent his finger painfully on the execute button as he jumped off of the chair and ran for the elevator. "LYOKO EAST! We can only send two of our warriors to your assistance, the others will be protecting people here! We're sending our best, as well as our best vehicles! We will be there shortly!" Tanaka yelled right before he ripped his wireless commlink out of his ear. "Floor 1!" he yelled, smashing in the button for speed.

"Warning, power shortage, XANA override protocol disabled, only two warriors from Lyoko West may be virtualized at a time now." The mechanic sounding voice said through the loudspeaker as the lights dimmed significantly.

"DAMNIT XANA!" Tanaka yelled as the door opened, revealing the scanner room. Lari was already scanned and virtualized, and four other scanners were closed and locked. Leaping into the open one, he shut his eyes and prepared for the very strange sensation of his senses being stripped away from him.

Author: With four stories, school, my gf, and my friends to attend to, it may take me a while to update. Sorry for the inconvenience people!


	3. The Lyoko War, prt1

Disclaimer: See the previous chapter for the better disclaimer.

Author: This is getting more and more fun to write!

"We've got a war on our hands Locata! We have no other choice, we need to tell the world about Lyoko. Tell the Police Chief and the Mayor to get down here, bring them here if you have to. Lari and I will help out Lyoko East and stall for time! Get them down here now! When you get here I'm gonna virtualize you, so be in the scanner when they arrive! And Locata, this is serious! You know what happens to those who die by XANA's attacks! They do not come back, ever, no matter what we do. Hurry your ass up!" Tanaka sent to Locata in an IM from the Forest Transport Tower's second floor.

"Tanaka! It's about time! I tried to get out but XANA's made it so we can't get out!" Lari said quickly.

"Then I'll transport us to an area outside. Take my hand, otherwise you might never come out again." Tanaka said, extending his wrist as he stood near the ledge.

"Alright. But don't think that this means anything!" Lari said, her face reddening.

"Of course not, I remember what you said. Come on, jump!" he said, leaping off of the ledge and into the darkness. Code suddenly surrounded the two, spinning and spiraling around them. "This is the code that makes up Lyoko. We just need to input the destination region code, the coordinates, and the Me.Transport method. And here we are! And with the vehicles as well! Get in your ride, I've got some hacking to do." Tanaka said as he mounted his custom chopper. Lari knew the surprises it held within its sleek frame. She got in her ride, a modified Dune Buggy, and sped off towards the transport tower.

"HEY XANA! YOU CALLED? HAHAHA!" Tanaka yelled when he got to the tallest activated tower. "YOU WANTED TO SEE ME NOW I'M HERE! WHAT DO YOU WANT, EH?"

"You are in my way. You need to be deleted. You cannot defeat me, you know this. Tanaka, Lari, Locata, Kimi, Kristin, Aelita, Odd, Ulric, Jeremy, Yumi, none of you seem to care about your lives. This does not compute, and all that does not compute, must be deleted due to data corruption and\or virus infection!" XANA said with his electronic voice.

"You know, this is really getting on my nerves you ugly bastard. You really think that you're gonna 'delete' my world? Your world is the digital one, made up of nothing but data in machine code. It's so very hard to reprogram, but I swear, I'll find a way. Now XANA, time for this to stop. Come on out, face me, program to program, to see whose creator was better, and who is the better gamer. You may be able to see my abilities, but you know nothing of me. Come on out coward, let's get this going!" Tanaka yelled back, his eyes flashing with a dark red light.

"HAHAHAHAHA! SO BE IT! YOU WISH FOR DELETION, I WILL GRANT THAT WISH TANAKA!" XANA said, showing his real form (in Lyoko). A giant arachnid rose up from the ground under the tower, it's eight eyes glowing bright red.

"That's it? This should be a cinch." Tanaka said, drawing his pistols. One, two, three, four, five, six bullets carrying deadly viruses plunged into the virtual flesh. Nothing happened.

"I have the greatest anti-virus possible, I am a virus! Now, watch this Tanaka!" XANA said, laughing. He sent a large force of Hornets at the young Lyoko Warrior, each one ready to kill.

"Is that it? Damn XANA, I thought you'd be a bigger challenge then this! Flyers are my specialty!" Tanaka laughed as he sent bullets tearing through each one, switching to his rocket launcher when he was finished with the annoying Hornets.

"What's this?" XANA said curiously.

"A new addition! In case you've forgotten, I can change my programming at will!" Tanaka said as he shot a large Sidewinder missile at XANA's arachnid-like body.

"GAHH! This might actually be a challenge! I will not lose to you Tanaka of Lyoko!" XANA yelled as the rocket collided with his ugly face.

"Hahaha! Really now? Well then, let's see how you like this!" Tanaka cried out as he drew his melee weapon, a short spear. "Hahaha! What fun! Maybe after this I can reprogram this world so that, when you activate a tower, it doesn't affect the real world, then we can have so much fun! Every Virtualization Station in the world can then be upgraded with many more Scanners, and we can have a huge online game here! Better yet, we can use Lyoko to wage wars! This is gonna be great! No more casualties, no more annoying newscasts, no more history classes. Or better yet, just leave things as they are. Games are much more fun when there are risks involved! Just like being a Daredevil!" he added as he plunged his spear into the bulbous abdomen of the overgrown tarantula.

"Ha, now you get to see my second form!" XANA cried out in pain. He transformed into a large scorpion, it's stinger filled with thousands of fatal viruses.

"Is that it? I know the scorpion's weakness. FIRE!" Tanaka yelled out as he threw a White Phosphorus grenade at the bug, wreathing it in flames that bit and tore at the scorpion's body.

"Damn you! I had hoped I'd never have to use this, but I can't let this place be taken by the likes of you!" XANA said as he assumed a more human form, a 6ft tall man with a large sword and a bow on his back.

"Nice, now this is a challenge. How about we go sword verses sword, huh XANA?" Tanaka said, drawing out a greatsword to match XANA's. "Let us begin!"

"Lari! Oh am I glad to see you!" Aelita said loudly, looking towards the source of the rumbling. Lari ran over close to forty little monsters on her way, making a line of wreckage in her wake.

"Get in everyone! Ulric, you take the left side gunner, Jeremy, you take right! Odd and Yumi, get in the seats to either side of me and get ready to attack anything that comes close! And the Schibizoa's weakness is the XANA insignia! We're gonna have a bumpy ride! Aelita, get in the sensor seat above me!" Lari shouted over the gunfire from her auto-targeting turrets. They all took their assigned places and raced towards the tower. _Please Tanaka, hurry up!_


	4. The Lyoko War, prt2

Disclaimer: I do not own Odd, Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremy, Aelita, X.A.N.A., Lyoko (the virtual world and team), or the vehicles from the anime. I do however, own Tanaka, Lari, Kimi, Kristin, Raylon, and Locata, their vehicles, the events within this story, and the locations specific to this story.

Author: Sorry it took so long. I kinda forgot to put it up! If I'm still writing this during the summer chapters will be coming much faster. I really don't like school, and things right now are becoming a bit of a hassle. Anyway, back to the FF! And about the seemingly random scene changes, I have a ton of spaces in between each change, but FF doesn't seem to want to put those in. Sorry for the confusion folks!

"X.A.N.A.! I will take you down!" Tanaka said as his great sword smashed together with X.A.N.A.'s, sending an earth-shattering boom throughout the region.

"Damn! You're a string one Tanaka! Perhaps I should make you part of myself, making me even stronger! Then you pathetic Lyoko people will not be able to deactivate my towers! Hahahahaha! Now, you become part of me Tanaka!" X.A.N.A. called out, sending a Schibizoa towards Tanaka's back, ambushing him.

"Really now, is that the best you can do? I thought you were a super-computer! I figured it would be harder to detect your moves! QUADRUCATE!" Tanaka yelled as the three clones hacked off all the Schibizoa's tentacles and sent four swords slashing through the head, killing it.

"NO! I've armored them harder then any other creature! How can you have pierced its protection?" X.A.N.A. yelled in fury.

"Easy: every monster of yours has the same weakness, the insignia. We, on the other hand, have no insignia, and almost no weak points. Good luck X.A.N.A., and make this fun for me please! Hahaha! En Garde!" Tanaka cried out, moving much faster then before, wielding two of his cumbersome great swords at once.

"IMPOSSIBLE! GAH!" the AI yelled as two large swords cut through it's body, one going straight through the defending sword.

"And so, it ends. Now to help Lari and to deactivate that tower!" Tanaka said as X.A.N.A. faded into nothing.

"Tanaka did it! The monsters are fighting like idiots! Take them down guys! Yumi, drive to the tower while I take care of these things!" Lari called out triumphantly as she jumped out of the vehicle.

"Alright Lari, just be careful!" Yumi said as she jumped into the driver's seat.

"HEY! Don't start without me!" a familiar voice yelled over the roar of his bike's engine.

"TANAKA! You made it out!" Lari exclaimed happily, embracing the warrior in a warm embrace. _Warm? But all senses are taken away in Lyoko!_

"Lari… I Love you. Come on, we'll have plenty of time to celebrate later! We've got some freaks to kill!" Tanaka said softly, his arms creeping behind Lari's back.

"Alright. We'll talk later then. HEY YOU UGLY SAPS! YOU'VE WASTED ENOUGH OF OUR TIME! NOW, WE GET OUR VENGEANCE!" she cried out, drawing her chackrams.

"And so, the war for Lyoko, and Earth, ends. I have to admit, no matter how much of a pain in the ass it's been guys, I've had fun! But all good things come to an end, even though great things are exceptions to this." Tanaka said calmly, with his pistols drawn. Switching to semi-automatic fire, he sprayed bullets throughout the enemies Lari either couldn't reach, or merely mortally wounded. He was soon out of ammo, so he leaped in, swords drawn, slashing everything that had the X.A.N.A. symbol on it.

Little did they know, in the Lyoko Station in New Hampshire, the AI, X.A.N.A., was re-programming itself back into Lyoko, hungry for another chance at domination.

"Thanks guys, maybe now we can get some peace, and Jeremy and I can have some time to ourselves, as I'm sure Ulrich and Yumi would like too. Hehe, Come on Jeremy, I'm gonna take you to the second floor of the tower now. You guys can head back, I can take care of things from here." Aelita said, smiling. She had the hand of a nervous looking Jeremy in her hand.

"No way Aelita! This isn't over yet! We all want to see the last tower deactivated! Maybe now I can learn about the programming language Lyoko uses, it seems so much more advanced then the ones I know, C#, J#, C, VB, and so many others. Oh well, we've got plenty of time now. Come on guys, let's go." Tanaka said, holding Lari's hand gently.

The seven Lyoko Warriors said as they walked through the wall of the final tower, or so, they thought.

Author: How about a cliffhanger to end things off? R&R plz, I'm trying something new with this fic.


	5. the Calm Before The Storm prt1

Author: The story's gonna slow down a bit, more geared towards the lives of the individual characters in Lyoko West then violence, hence the title. It might also be a bit long, I tend to write longer stuff when I'm in a bad mood. I don't normally write when I'm pissed off. I haven't been having the best time lately so… This what comes from it. Hope you like it.

"Kimi, I have a question to ask." Tanaka said, his eyes sorrowful and pensive.

"Go ahead Tanaka, you know I'm here for you. What's up?" Kimi said, worried.

"I was wondering, do you think I have a chance with Lari? And if I do, then how much?" Tanaka said, his voice sounding so sorrowful it almost made the teenage woman cry.

"I'm sorry Tanaka, but I don't think you have any chance with her. She went out with you once, but she won't again. She's just not worth it. You like her so much but she just doesn't like you in that way. I can see this is hard for you, and it's hard to watch as I tell you, and it's even hard to say this to you! I'm sorry Tanaka, but that's what I think. Maybe you should ask Raylon and Kristin, they might be able to see a way you two can get together." Kimi said, putting her hand on Tanaka's shoulder to try to console him. Tanaka's eyes closed while she was talking, and they opened, empty of any and all emotion.

"Thanks for being honest Kimi." He said, looking down at his feet.

"Tanaka, don't keep locking the pain up inside, you're just gonna hurt yourself more and more then you already have! It's okay for guys to cry Tanaka, why won't you?" Kimi asked, looking into his eyes.

"Because I can't! Ever since what happened nine 1\2 years ago, I can't! I wish I could, but nothing makes me sad enough anymore! For so long I've lived with no friends at all, and only three people who were acquaintances. Everyone else, asides from my family of course, but they don't really count, hated me, why, I do not know. I've been lonely for so long, picked on for just as long, and now, this. If I could show you my heart right now, you would instantly start crying, that is, if you could see anything. It's like an endless darkness, shadow filling every single crack of my heart, with no light, except in this tiny little corner, where me and Lari are together, holding hands, laying down on the soft, sun warmed grass, staring up at the dusk sky, not saying a thing but happier then we've ever been before, just because we're with each other. I know it sounds incredibly corny, but that's how it is. So much sorrow, anger, hatred, despair, hopelessness, sadness, sigh, I'm really just held up, only by the tiny thread, the minute string of hope that I have of getting together with her again, this time, it working out.

"Kimi, I'm sorry for rambling on like that, you're probably getting tired of me doing this, huh?" Tanaka said, his eyes filling with tears that will not leave, burning with the pain of sorrow and despair.

"Tanaka, I should have lied! I should have said that you do have a chance! I shou"

"No Kimi, for that would have given me false hope, which would only have led to pain worse then this. I'm thankful that you told me the truth. Please, stop apologizing for something you do that you should do. I Love her, I really do, but I suppose I will have to just hide that, while holding on to it as tightly as I can, grasping that tiny thread of hope, using it to climb higher and higher, as high as I possibly can." Tanaka said, looking at her with sad eyes. "Come on, we need to get to class before we're late." He added, turning around.

"Tanaka! Thanks for your advice earlier, about me and Meiko. You helped me out quite a bit. I need to ask you something after school, I'll call you when I get home." Kimi said, trying to cheer Tanaka up. Noticing that it didn't work, she patted him on the shoulder, told him that she thought he would make himself a chance with Lari, and walked towards the café. Tanaka walked into the portable his math room was in, putting his head down as soon as he sat down.

_Maybe she's right, maybe I don't have a chance with Lari. She did say, after all, that she wanted to avoid getting a boyfriend right now, not to mention the fact that she might be going to college two years early. Oh well, so much has happened lately, it's getting difficult to keep track. Oh crap! Lari's birthday party is coming up! I need to ride down to Wal-mart to grab her a present. sigh, again, so much is happening, I can't keep track. My parents are getting separated yet again, Kimi and Lari are fighting, Kristin won't stop asking me if I will be her boyfriend, Locata is being his usual self, same as Raylon, net giving a damn about anyone else's business. At least they don't make things worse. Oh well, might as well take things as I can get them. _ Tanaka thought as his head was down on his arms, looking like he was asleep.

"Alright class, we are gonna start simplifying positive and negative exponents today." The teacher said, sending the attendance down via email. Tanaka looked up after hearing her talking, not really hearing her, just knowing that she said something. He saw the words simplifying exponents on the board, and sighed. _I did this crap in sixth grade, why are we covering this bullshit in a sophomore math class?_ He thought, opening his book to the night's homework.

The day ended fairly slowly for the dispirited teen. Math seemed to drag on much longer then usual, and even one of the classes he looked forward to, Gym, was not helpful in the least. IT had started raining halfway through gym, so they were playing softball in the pouring rain, to the complaints of many of the students. "Oh shut up, it's just a little bit of water. You all swim right? Think of it as that." He said bitterly before smashing the ball far into right field. He knew that he could just walk to first and make it easily, so he did just that.

After school ended and he got out of his soaked gym clothes, he walked outside of the Field House (gym building) and stood next to a silent, reading Kristin. He saw his bus finally pull in, and picked up his bag. "See ya tomorrow Kristin." He said with a low, deep voice. Surprised, she looked up to see Tanaka walking towards his bus, his head down.

About half an hour later, Tanaka walked through the door to his apartment building. _Even the place I live in sucks ass. This town is so boring, there's nothing to do to take your mind off of your life, I hate it. _He thought, walking into his apartment. He didn't even have X.A.N.A.'s little interferences to take his mind off things. Sighing, he laid down on the couch, burying his face in the cushions. He stayed like that for a good while, until his neck got stiff and he turned over to stare at the ceiling. "Somebody please help me. So much is wrong right now, I'm not sure if anything's right asides from X.A.N.A.'s defeat! Everyone thinks my life is so good compared to theirs, well, maybe not Raylon and Locata, they have pretty good lives. Lari, she's in all the highest possible classes for her year, and she's going to college next, Kristin's having a great time, she's got so many friends she can hang out with, Kimi's doing great, I'm the only one with problems in life it seems. Sure, Lari's hounded by guys, and Kristin's got her horrid sister bugging her constantly, and Kimi's having a little trouble getting her parents to trust her more. Me, I've gone out with someone that I love, and she won't go out with me again. She sounded so pissed off the last time I asked, it hurt. Kristin tricked me to get me to ask her out, and now that's becoming a nightmare, Kimi's pissed off almost every day and I've been helping her through that, my parents will not stop fighting, I've got an essay in LA, a test in math, Job Shadow in Economics, three programs to make in C, so much crap to do. I really could use some help." Tanaka said as he sunk into the couch. For some reason, it felt really soft and comfortable, so much that he could easily fall asleep, even though he was still cold from the rain. "Maybe a nap will help me clear my head." He said groggily, yawning almost immediately after. He fell asleep almost instantly, something that was definatly not normal for him.

Author: Like I said, I haven't had the best time since I posted the third chapter. I know I should be saying the last one, but I kept forgetting to put it up for a while.


	6. The Calm Before the Storm prt2

Author: Still not the best time, though better then earlier in the week. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I'm getting less homework lately, so I'm gonna be able to update a little bit more often.

"Lari? What are you doing out this late?" Tanaka said, running over to her.

"One could ask you the same question. But anyway, I'm just clearing my head. What about you? I bet your parents would freak if they knew you were out here this late, unarmed." Lari said, looking at him with somber eyes.

"Who said anything about unarmed? I needed some of the fresh, crisp, cool night air to, think." Tanaka said, pulling two slender knives out of their concealed sheaths slightly. "Come on, I'll bring you to a place that always calmed me down." He added, taking her hand and turning her around.

"Alright. I suppose it's better then hanging around here." She replied, accepting the slight tug for once. Tanaka led her to a small pond, life at almost a standstill.

"Everything's so quiet and peaceful. Do you come here often?" Lari asked, sitting on a small cliff.

"Whenever I need to think. It's amazing how much this place seems to calm me down. I don't know why though. I told you about my first love, right?" Tanaka replied sitting next to her. "WHOA!" he cried out as he almost fell in the water. Luckily, Lari caught the back of the neck of his shirt with one hand, and a nearby tree with the other. "Thanks, Lari." He added, blushing.

"No problem. Tanaka, I can see that you're blushing, even in this darkness. I know that you love me, and as I've told you before, I don't feel that towards you, I'm sorry. I heard you and Kristin recently broke up though. Did she teach you anything?" Lari said, smiling.

"Only one thing that I didn't know before really. It was that you don't need to love the person to go out with them, you have to be at least good friends." Tanaka said gloomily. He looked down into the shining water, his heart heavy with pain.

"Tanaka, we've gone out before, and it didn't work, we both know this. Wait, was that your first date Tanaka?" Lari said, looking at him curiously.

"Yeah, that easy to tell?" he said sorrowfully.

"Well then, that explains it. Would you change anything if I were to tell you to ask me again? Don't tell me what you'd change, just answer my question yes or no." she queried. Tanaka looked up at her.

"Yeah. I didn't know what to do then, but I have a better idea now. Plus you told me not to hold your hand, hug you, or anything like that. I knew you hated that stuff, so I didn't argue. This time, I might, I would argue. Oh crap! You said not to say what I'd change! Sorry." He said, walking over to the middle of the clearing behind them. "Do you think that there may be some of X.A.N.A.'s freaks still here somewhere? Waiting for the kids who took him down to kill them?"

"Don't ask me, you're the programmer. I don't even know if that's possible. But if I had to answer, I'd say yeah. We had no clue what X.A.N.A. could do. And I knew you were gonna mess up and say things you would change, but I didn't think you would stop at just one. I guess you have changed a bit. Sit down Tanaka." Lari said, patting on the sand next to her.

"What's up?" Tanaka said, his face a little brighter now that he knew that there was a chance that the two teens could get back together.

"Ask me again. My answer could change." She said mischievously, her mouth unable to be seen in the dark night.

"Lari, would you like to, perhaps, go to dinner, maybe. Somewhere nice, when I get the money of course. With the free time I have now X.A.N.A.'s gone, I can finally get a job. What do you say?" Tanaka said hopefully, looking right in Lari's eyes. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, and his chest warming up, like a small sun had lit up, thousands of light years into his heart.

"I'd love that. But let's worry about that later. For now, let's just enjoy the night." Lari said as she laid down next to Tanaka.

"Lari… You're beautiful, even in this darkness. Lari…" Tanaka said softly as he laid down next to her, falling asleep almost instantly.

"Lari…" Tanaka mumbled, turning over in his bed. His alarm went off, turning his cd player on right next to his head, earphones at full blast. "Yeah, yeah, shut up already. Damn clock, woke me from the best damn dream I've ever had. Oh well, maybe that told of what could happen today!" he said quietly, smiling sleepily. _I doubt it though. She'd never go for someone like me. I'm weak, dumb as a doorknob, dense as a frickin brick wall, the only things I can do right are program and play video games. What would anyone see in me?_ He thought, his mind almost warring against itself. _But what if she does love me? I mean, I help my friends whenever they need it, no matter how much help I need myself, I'm always kind to my friends, and when I'm not, they know I'm kidding, I'm trying to lose weight, and it's slowly working. Maybe she does Love me! Why would she? There's nothing in you to love! There is! Kristin's told me this, so has Kimi, even Lari has said that. _He thought, the hopeful side winning. "I need professional help man. Hahaha." He said as he walked to his bus stop, his music blaring. He stood there silently, just like always, his bag at his feet. The only difference was that he didn't have the scowl that he normally had on so nobody would bother him. The bus came and got to the school in about five minutes total.

"Hey Tanaka. You look happier then usual, what's up?" Kristin said, seeing him by the steps near the oldest building.

"Just the fact that I actually slept last night, why? Is that a bad thing?" he replied, laughing a little.

"I doubt it, did you have a dream last night by any chance?" Kristin said, looking at Tanaka funny.

"Nope. You should know that by now. I very, very rarely ever dream." Tanaka said as he put his coat in his locker in the Vocational building.

"Someone's in a good mood, and you sounded so sad last time I talked to you. What's up?" Kimi queried.

"Nothing much, I just got to actually sleep last night. You okay Lari?" Tanaka said, looking into her sorrowful eyes.

"Yeah, just tired, that's all. Tired, and bored! This place is so boring now that X.A.N.A.'s gone! There's nothing happening!" Lari said, getting aggravated.

"Yeah, but look at the bright side: we're no longer responsible for the world. Anyway, I was wondering, could you meet me at the church after school say, around 5:00PM, somewhere around there?" Tanaka said nervously.

"Sure. Why so late though?" Lari asked.

"It'll take that long to get the program running. You'll know what I mean when you get there. I will tell you this, it'll almost be just like when X.A.N.A. was running. Come on Kristin, we gotta get to class!" Tanaka said happily, picking up Kristin's bag and walking towards the Fine Arts building.

"What's with him?" Lari asked Kristin

"I have no clue." She replied, running to catch up.


	7. The Calm Before the Storm prt3

Author: This is gonna be interesting. And just so you know, this chapter happens about an hour after Tanaka and the others get out of school for the weekend.

**AmericanKitty**: Thanks for the advice. I did list them under the pairings so I might wanna do that… Anyway, thanks for the review!

"Hey Tanaka! Remember us?" a strangely familiar voice called out.

"Huh? Jeremy? Ulrich? Odd? Yumi? Aelita? How did you guys get here?" Tanaka asked as he rode towards them.

"Easy, we took a plane. Anyway, we're in the Exchange program in your school and we were wondering if you could show us around. We all have our schedules. So, what do you say?" Yumi said, taking out five pieces of paper.

"Sure. I'm on my way to the school anyway. I forgot my German book in my locker. Hence the backpack. Anyway, so how are you guys doing? Odd find Sam yet? Any cure for Aelita's virus?" Tanaka said, hopping off his bike.

"No, I haven't found her yet. And surprisingly, Einstein over here can't figure out the virus." Odd said, laughing. "What about you? Where's Lari?"

"I told you this at least ten times Odd! We're not together! I, just like her a lot, but she doesn't like me back, that's all! Anyway, Jeremy, I think I might have found something that can get rid of Aelita's virus. I'll meet you at our Lyoko station later." Tanaka replied angrily.

"Okay Tanaka. I've got a question, you guys are all American, but why do you have Japanese names?" Jeremy asked curiously.

"Oh, those are just nicknames Kimi thought up. My real name's Richard. I kinda don't like my name so I tend to use my nickname a lot. What does Tanaka mean anyway?" Richard queried, still walking up the large hill.

"I believe it means 'dweller'. What do you think she meant by that?" Jeremy answered.

"Lari…" Richard whispered quietly under his breath. Fortunately, no one heard him.

"Tanaka? RICHARD!" Jeremy shouted, snapping Richard out of his pensive mood.

"Huh? Oh sorry. I've got a lot of things on my mind. Anyway, here's the school. Now, what do you guys have first period? And if you're gonna use my real name, call me Rich. It's a lot shorter." Rich said, locking up his bike.

"I've got English2B in room 430." Ulrich said.

"Same here." Yumi replied

"Visual Basic 1 in room 252." Jeremy said

"A-l-g-g-e-o-i-n-t 2 in room 84. What class is that?" Odd said rather stupidly.

"Algebra Geometry Integrated 2, the C level math class. What about you Aelita? What do you have first period?"

"It's smudged so I can't see the name of the class, but the room number is 102." Aelita said.

"Can you see any of the name?" Tanaka asked. "Room 84 is closest and we won't go to the Language Arts wing for Ulrich and Yumi then can just follow me when I go to first period. They'll just have to take the stairs though. It's the very top floor."

"I thing the first letter is a G, and why won't you be taking the stairs?" Aelita asked.

"I carry my friend's bag so I get to use the elevator. Same thing after class. And the class is German1B. I hope you have the same teacher I have, he's a riot. So, first we go to Odd's math class, then Jeremy's VB class, and then Aelita's German class, then we check out the second period classes." Tanaka said, leading them over to a portable.

"This looks old." Odd said, pointing to the main building.

"That was the original one building for the school. Now we've got three towns coming here. This is room 84, ok Odd?" Tanaka said, pointing to a door.

"Alright." He replied simply. Soft beeps could be heard from his direction.

"Odd if you don't put the game away now I am gonna tear your arms off." Tanaka said threateningly.

"Whoa! Alright! I tend to get bored and take out anything to do when the topic of discussion comes to school. So this is my math room? Alright, easy enough. Straight hall, doors clearly numbered." He said fearfully. He could see the gleam in Tanaka's eyes.

The tour took about an hour. The group went for lunch outside a small store near the school. "Hey Tanaka, if you don't mind me asking, what is wrong between you and Lari? You seem like you two would be a good couple from what I've seen in Lyoko." Aelita said innocently.

"It's not an easy thing to describe. I like her, a ton, but she, doesn't like me in that way. I like her as much more then a friend, but she likes me as just a friend. I suppose there's nothing I can do about it, but oh well. And what you guys saw in Lyoko was nothing more then a victory everyone has been waiting for a long time. I greatly wish that it could have been more then that, but it wasn't, and it probably couldn't. Why am I so sad about it though? I know that I can't change the way she feels. Yumi, you're a girl, what the hell should I do? She's a lot like you, only much more morbid and a bit more of a pyro. I love her so much, and yet, I'm still just a friend to her. I wish so much that I could be more, I've daydreamed about what could happen. I know she won't be here for the next six school years, she's transferring, and I can get through that, even if I won't be able to ask her to the prom. (Sigh.) No matter, I suppose it cannot be helped. Unless you have an idea Yumi?" Tanaka explained, looking down.

"I'm sorry Tanaka, I shouldn't have asked you about so obviously a painful subject." Aelita said sorrowfully.

"Don't be, you couldn't possibly have known it was a touchy subject." Tanaka said.

"I'm sorry Tanaka, but I can't think of a way to help you out here." Yumi said.

"That's alright. She'll probably find someone for her in that school she'll be going to. I suppose it was never meant to be." Tanaka sighed, his eyes starting to burn as he looked up into the sky. "I'm gonna go, I gotta go pick up some manga from Kristin. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Remember: we all meet at the railing next to the Voc." He said with a heavy heart and a sorrowful voice. He rode down the large hill leading away from the school, his brakes failing as he neared the rotary…

S/N: I just feel like a huge cliffy so… I'll try not to make the wait too long, although I do have a ton of stuff I gotta do.


	8. The Calm Before the Storm prt4

Author: you can ask questions about why the characters are the way they are you know.

"Tanaka! Are you alright? Please say something!" a familiar, strong voice called out in the distance. _Lari? I, I can't move. I'm fine, I just can't move. Please Lari, stop, stop worrying. Please…_

"Ugggh, Lari? My head kills. What happened?" Tanaka said groggily.

"You're breaks failed and you went right into the rotary. You were hit. The guy just swore and drove off, the little bastard. I'll get him later though…" Lari explained. "Never mind that, are you ok? Can you move?"

"Barely. I'll be fine in a little though." He replied, getting propped up against a stone wall near the rotary. "What about you? Are you okay? You look pale."

"You just scared the Hell out of me! You ride out into the rotary like it's nothing, and you get hit! What happened?" Lari yelled. "I thought you might have died or something! It looked like your neck was run over!"

"Sorry for worrying you so much Lari. I knew what was gonna happen so I accepted it. Plus, life has little to offer me anyway. Not that death has much more. Anyway, thanks for helping. I should be able to make it home. What are you doing so far from your place anyway?" Tanaka said somberly. Lari could tell something was wrong; Tanaka had never acted like this, not even when she said that their relationship (dating) wouldn't work out.

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to talk about anything?" Lari asked anxiously.

"Nothing that you would listen to, it would only get you mad so I'm not gonna tell. Just remember, even though I won't see you after this school year, doesn't mean I won't be thinking of you." Tanaka said as he straightened his handlebars and seat. He looked at the shifters and saw that they would never shift again. At least the front one wouldn't. He got on with a grunt of pain, waved goodbye, and rode home, panting from the obvious but ignored pain.

"Tanaka, why won't you let me help?" Lari thought aloud, her thoughts reaching Aelita's ears.

"Maybe he's nervous. He did say that talking to you about it would only get you mad. Maybe he doesn't want to get you mad. If I were him, no offense, please don't get mad, but I would be too. I'd be afraid to piss you off Lari. I can't really blame him. We've both seen you get pissed on Lyoko and in real life, and I don't think he wants to get you mad at him. Plus, he really likes you a lot Lari. I think he might even Love you. I don't really know a lot about human emotions yet, but I think I know enough to say that he looks like he loves you. Anyway, I've gotta get going back to where I'm staying. See ya." Aelita said.

"Yeah, I know he loves me, but that's the problem…" Lari said softly. Her thoughts roamed back to the first time she heard him say that to her. It was when they went out to see a movie the previous school year. All in all, the night went pretty well. Although Tanaka didn't' even try to hold Lari's hand or hug her, she had a really nice time. While they were waiting for their ride home, Tanaka said her name to get her to look over to him.

"Lari, I love you. I really do, with every part of my heart. No matter how much distance separates us, remember that you'll always be in my mind." He said, looking deep into her eyes. She wanted so much to kiss him, but she decided upon the contrary. Their ride came shortly after, ending the great night.

"Why are things so complicated?" Lari whispered as she crossed the street. Her mind was soaring through so many possible outcomes of that night if she had kissed Tanaka, and what they would be like now. She knew that it was for the best, seeing that they would be away from each other for the better part of six years after sophomore year.

Author: October doesn't seem to be a good month for me this year. All sorts of crap has been happening. Anyway, now for Tanaka's thoughts.

"Why can't she just give me a chance? I know I messed the last one up pretty badly, but I want to try again, I want to show her that I won't mess this one up! I've been going through that night, figuring out what I did wrong and how to fix it, I got help from Kristin with that, I would be revealing the real me, something Kimi helped with, we'd be talking, something Raylon helped with, sorta. So much I wish to redo, but I cannot! Is she afraid of what it could bring when she leaves for six years? She knows she'll always be in my heart, no matter how far apart we are. I'll never forget her, never. I love her so much, I really do. (sigh) I guess there's nothing left to do but wait. But how can I wait when the opportunity of al lifetime might be passing me by? Either way I could seriously screw up! I wish this was easier, it would take away so many troubles." Tanaka thought aloud when he had gotten to his favorite place to think, a small pond with a large sandy area in front of it. Not like a beach at all.

"Maybe it is." A voice said from behind him. Tanaka, grabbing a nearby fallen tree branch, spun around to face the intruder.

"Ulrich! Don't do that. You know how I get when I'm thinking and someone sneaks up behind me! You know I attack before I can even see the person! (Sigh) So what are you doing here?" Tanaka said irritably.

"I followed you here. Something's wrong Tanaka, what's up?" Ulrich asked kindly.

"Nothing. And the answer will be the same if you as what's wrong. There's only one person I am comfortable with talking about this to, and she is included within the problem. Nothing personal Ulrich, I just don't know you enough. Anyway, I've gotta go." Tanaka said sadly.

"No Tanaka. You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong!" Ulrich said sternly.

"Ulrich. I really don't want to talk about it but if you're gonna be like this then I suppose I have no choice. I love Lari, more then you could ever love Yumi, trust me on this. We are so close, but she refuses to even give me a chance. I don't know why. Even though I don't let anyone see, it hurts. It hurts almost more then anything I've ever felt in my life. I believe I've told you all about the most painful moments of my life. I don't want to go through them again. Anyway, we did go out once, but it didn't work out too well. And now that she's gonna be leaving for six years after this summer, I just want, I would like to give her another night to remember, this one, maybe, one she'll never forget. I love seeing her happy, it always brings a smile to my face. And lately she's been under so much stress, I just want to help her get away from it, even if it is only for a couple hours. When we went to see that movie, I saw her actually smile for the first time. She was really happy, and that made me smile softly. I wanted so much to just kiss her right then and there, but I remembered what she said, and I shoved those thoughts back down. I could tell she was pensive, but she didn't look sad. Quite the contrary. It looked as if she was trying to decide whether to do something or not. Evidently, she decided not to, because she then just looked up at the stars, still smiling. Our ride picked us up not much after that. She told me not too long after that night that it wouldn't work out. She wouldn't say why though. I think she's been avoiding getting a boyfriend ever since. A lot of guys want to go out with her, and she's getting annoyed by it. I know that we could say we're going out, but never actually go out, just deceive them. I don't want to tell her that though. She's an amazing girl when you actually get to know her. She really is. She's different from all other girls I've met. She's kind, caring, supportive, and understanding like most girls, but she's also strong, courageous beyond normal people, quick minded, dark, mysterious. And when she's happy, I mean like she was that night, she's so beautiful. The moonlight reflected off of her eyes, making them sparkle like the sky. She was amazing, even though she was wearing a red hoody and jeans. I love her so much, and I want to give her just one more great memory, but I can't, no matter how much I wish I could. Happy?" Tanaka said sorrowfully, his eyes beginning to burn.

"Sorry I made you say all that, I thought it was something with your parents or something like that. I think you should try asking her out again, or at least tell her your idea. I think she'll go for it, and if you don't tell her, I will. I don't want to sound like an ass or anything, but you two could make such a great couple, I know it. I'm gonna get Yumi, Jeremy, and Aelita to help. Odd, as you probably know, " Ulrich responded

"Will just mess everything up." They said in unison. They laughed and rode back to Tanaka's place where Ulrich was staying.

"Ignore the mess, we just got a new carpet. They should have finished putting the stuff back by now however, so it should be fine. Just try not to annoy my parents too much, they definatly won't be in a good mood." Tanaka warned Ulrich as they carried their bikes up the stairs.

"Just try to keep up. Hahaha." Ulrich said before Tanaka opened the door.

"Hey guys. Ulrich's here. He's staying the night while he's here on the Exchange program, remember?" Tanaka said as he put the bikes out on the porch.

"Yes Tanaka we remember. Do you remember the rules we set down? Your bedroom door is to be locked after nine unless one of you is out of it. I hope you can speak Japanese otherwise, we'll have no clue what he's saying." Tanaka's mom said.

"Don't worry. I can speak English quite well. All I need is a little tour and I'll be fine." Ulrich said, making Tanaka's parents jump.

"So they do teach you the language of the country you're going to before they send you. I thought they just give you one of those little pocket dictionaries." Tanaka's dad said. "I was supposed to go to China for a business trip, but I'm not so sure it'll happen now. Anyway, welcome to our house Ulrich. You two will be waking up at 5:30AM tomorrow mourning for school. Tanaka, why don't you help him unpack while your mother and I talk." He added, pointing towards Tanaka's room.

"Alright dad. Come on, we need to make sure you've got everything." Tanaka said.

"Alright. I did bring a copy of our virtualization cards from Lyoko East. We can put them into the Lyoko West databases tomorrow after school." Ulrich said.

"Actually, we may need to do that earlier then that. X.A.N.A.'s activated three towers! Come on! X.A.N.A.'s a bit more powerful in the Lyoko West territories then he is in the East ones. He can activate multiple towers at once. The longer he is inactive, the more energy he accumulates and the more towers he can have activated at one time. We've gone into his memory banks and instead of it being like Sector Five in the East Lyoko world, ours is called Terathea, we got to name it. Anyway, X.A.N.A.'s real Lyoko form is there, and in order to get anything from his memory we need to wither get past him or beat him. He stays down for a good two or three weeks, depending on how long we can drag the battle out for. But, if one of us is devirtualized, we need to get that person out of X.A.N.A.'s memory banks via hacking. The most towers he has activated at once were fifty, and that was his first assault. All of the Lyoko West team can deactivate and use towers just like Aelita, but only she and I have extensive knowledge about how Lyoko and X.A.N.A. function. I doubt even Jeremy would understand most of it. Aelita used a Trojan Horse to implant the data into my DNA coding, making it a permanent understanding and memory. This is what allows me to hack into X.A.N.A.'s memory through the supercomputer at the Church." Tanaka said quickly as he got their bikes off of the porch.

"Where do you think you're going?" his mom asked as they rushed out the door.

"Can't talk, three activated towers, check my laptop screen!" Tanaka said as he rode down the outside stairs, Ulrich at his heels.

"X.A.N.A attack! Come on Yumi, we've gotta go to the Church! Tanaka and Ulrich have your virtualization card, as well as your vehicles." Lari said as she took her bikes off of their hooks under the porch.

"Alright. We need to hurry." Yumi said, getting on one.

"Aelita! X.A.N.A.'s attacking!" Kristin said loudly, shaking the young girl out of her slumber.

"But I thought we shut him down! He must have sent a monster through the scanner right before we got him. Let's go!" Aelita said as she got dressed. They ran out the door, bikes in hand.

A/N: I'm gonna hafta leave it there. I've got so much happening I can't write right now. Sorry guys.


	9. XANA's Assault

A/N: Sorry I haven't been able to update lately. So much crap has been going down I've lost track of a lot. Anyway, things are gonna pick up as you all know from the last update. Things are gonna focus on Tanaka.

The Lyoko warriors all met up in the Church. "Oh my fucking god! 100 towers in different regions and a huge upsurge of monster activity! I was hoping I wouldn't have to show you guys this yet." Tanaka yelled.

"What is this? Even I don't understand this program." Aelita said, puzzled.

"This is the program X.A.N.A. uses to create and transport his monsters. I'll need to activate a tower in order to enter the program in. I'll need you guys to follow me into Lyoko and protect the tower. Lyoko West will protect the exterior of the tower, and Lyoko East, with the exception of Aelita, will protect the interior from X.A.N.A." Tanaka explained grimly.

"Tanaka, you know what will happen if you use those codes! We need you!" Lari yelled, worry sounding in her voice for the first time.

'I know, but it must be done. Only Aelita and I can enter the codes, and Aelita possesses the Keys.I cannot allow her to sacrifice herself and give X.A.N.A. his victory. I'm his target anyway. Aelita: stay here and virtualize us into the Broken region." Tanaka instructed as he changed his Virtualization Card.

"Tanaka, what'll happen to you once you use those codes?" Odd said fearfully.

"I'll become part of Lyoko itself. Just like Franz Hopper/Halker (I forget which one it was). I'll still help you guys out as much as I can. Before I go, can I talk with you alone Lari?" Tanaka explained, his face getting darker and darker.

"Sure, I guess." Lari said in a strained voice. They left for the room where the main switch was located.

"Lari, I just wanted to say that, after all of the bullshit that's happened between us, I will always Love you. I'm so sorry for getting you into all this. If, if something goes wrong, I'll, I'll…" Tanaka's voice cracked. "I'll die." He added softly. "I'm scared Lari. For the first time regarding Lyoko, I'm scared. Lari?"

"Oh Tanaka! Please, let someone else go instead!" Lari cried through sobs.

"Shhhhhh. Everything's okay Lari, I'm here for you. It's okay…" Tanaka's voice trailed off as he held Lari close, tears falling from both their eyes. "I'll make sure not to mess up, and I'm positive that you guys will find a way to get me out. I'll help too. I'll have access to every single line of code and history in all of the Lyoko drives all over the world. I'll make sure I find a way out. Franz Hopper/Halker will be helping me. We'll both get back. Aelita will finally meet her dad again and he can replace the missing data from her, then we can get rid of X.A.N.A. once and for all. This is it, the beginning of X.A.N.A.'s end." Tanaka said calmly.

"You sound like you know this is gonna happen. What if there is no way to get you out?" Lari said, her sobs ceasing.

"We got Aelita out of the Lyoko drives didn't we? Same program, only a few minor adjustments because we'll have to do it right inside X.A.N.A. Nothing big really, together, Franz, Jeremy, and I will be able to accomplish it. I've uploaded the data Aelita gave me to your Virtualization Card. Next time you come back here from Lyoko, you'll know everything about Lyoko's inner workings, just like Aelita and I. Think of it as a going away present." Tanaka said, smiling. "Come on, we gotta get going before he activates more towers."

"Alright. I'm fine now, thanks to you. Tanaka, I Love you too." Lari replied, walking into the elevator, holding Tanaka's hand.


	10. Tanaka's Sacrifice

A/N: Here's your Xmas present guys!

The Lyoko West group entered the scanners with a grim mood. Everyone knew what would happen to Tanaka, but it was like he didn't even care. They all knew different however, he had never been this determined in their life.

Disclaimer: The group of monsters I named the Bloodbringers use armor based off of the Gutbuster Brigade from R.A. Salvatore's books from the Forgotten Realms series/saga. They appear, I believe in the Icewind Dale trilogy first, not entirely sure however. I know they are in the series that tells of Drizzt Do'Urden's life.

"Until we're found…" Lari said sorrowfully.

"We fight unbound." Tanaka finished softly, kissing her cheek lightly.

"Transfer: Raylon, transfer: Kristin, transfer: Kimi, transfer: Lari. Scanner: Lyoko West. Virtualization. Good luck guys." Aelita said somberly.

"Uh, Aelita? Forgetting someone?" Tanaka said, laughing slightly.

"Oh, sorry." She mumbled. "Transfer: Tanaka. Scanner: Tanaka. Virtualization."

Tanaka found himself in the Broken region, a region much like Earth before plants came along. Volcanoes and lava rivers could be seen, and the heat, thankfully, couldn't be felt. He went to the nearest tower, and found it was an activated one. He deactivated it easily, X.A.N.A.'s attention was focused on getting more monsters out of Terathea, where they were created. "Alright, here goes nothing. Guys, after I enter these codes, I'll be just like Aelita was, tied to Lyoko. Do not try to use the Materialization program on me; it'll wreck everything we worked for. I'll be able to physically help you out in Lyoko, as well as mold the terrain and energy flow. Don't worry about getting devirtualized while I'm gone, I'll be able to pick you out of X.A.N.A.'s memory so easily it'll be pathetic. Well, It's now or never guys. Good luck out there." Tanaka said, entering the program in. He felt very strange, having his DNA coding taken away from him by Lyoko, by Franz, and used to create creatures of his own design. His only limit, was his imagination. And that wouldn't run out anytime soon. He was the second most imaginative person in Lyoko West. He knew that there was no turning back, and that the program was a success. He created several kinds of monsters, ranging from his version of Tanks to Hornets, to totally new creatures he called Daemons. Great, winged beasts with armor as strong as the field surrounding the memory banks of a Schibizoa. They used many different kinds of weapons and excelled at their use. From simple swords to halberds, spears, bows, crossbows, axes, and a thousand more. There was one more kind of creature that Tanaka created. The Bloodbringers. Just as tall as the Schibizoa, but human shaped and bore armor with millions of spikes, nicks, and other sharp edges. Their weapons: their bodies. They were the ultimate of the Lyoko creatures, and inspired their human comrades to fight even harder. Tanaka was giving all he could to keep the supply of soldiers coming. He created long range marksmen, artillery, melee fighters, stealth assassins, everything you could expect from a collision of modern and medieval time periods, plus things found in Forgotten Realms fictions such as mages and clerical creatures. Seeing what Tanaka had created, X.A.N.A. focused on the tower in which Tanaka resided. Both Lyoko groups, with the exception of Aelita, were ready to defend Tanaka to the death, even though they would only get devirtualized and the revirtualized. Lyoko West was much different then East. A warrior could get virtualized, devirtualized, and revirtualized as many times as it would take for that person to collapse from exhaustion.

"Tanaka, you're amazing." Yumi said, fighting off the form X.A.N.A. was taking inside the tower.

"Keep sending them Tanaka, we've almost pushed them back to the ledge. Get ready to make things that can blow them over!" Raylon yelled, fighting with everything he had.

"Tanaka, you're doing better then any of us could hope you could. You've gotten X.A.N.A. so spooked he's come here himself!" Lari said, smiling.

"I know, Lyoko East is on the first level fighting his representation. I'll keep creating soldiers, and I'm sending the Bloodbringers. It's gonna get gruesome, at least it would if X.A.N.A.'s things bled." Tanaka said calmly. They all knew victory was theirs.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but I wanted to finish it before Xmas Eve. It's currently 11:52PM.


	11. The War for Lyoko

A/N: I will try to update more often. It's been getting harder to write. So much crap is happening I'm getting writer's block. Very annoying. Oh well, let's see how this turns out.

Disclaimer: The name Sons of Plunder is owned by the amazing group Disturbed from the song of the same name on their Ten Thousand Fists album.

"Tanaka! They're retreating!" Lari yelled. "We've won!"

"No we haven't. Get ready. Seventeen waves are coming at us at once. Virtualizing as many soldiers as I can." Tanaka said, his hands moving just as fast as the supercomputer's CPU. He was virtualizing so many creatures at once, he was outdoing X.A.N.A. by far. "You know what guys? Let's see just how long we can keep X.A.N.A. down. Let's push him all the way back to Terathea!" Tanaka said, his heart pounding. At least, it would if be he had a physical body.

"Are you sure you guys can do that Tanaka? X.A.N.A's gotten really powerful!" Aelita asked fearfully.

"Well we need to go around all the areas anyway to deactivate the towers right? Why stop there? Why not take this war to X.A.N.A.? We may not have enough warriors now, but once you separate to go and deactivate the towers, we'll have all the soldiers we need. Fan out, deactivate all towers. I'll handle our little virtual pal." Tanaka said, taking the material of the tower and forming it into scimitars and full plate armor. "And so the Sons of Plunder strike!" he called out, lowering down to the ground level of the tower.

"Tanaka. I've been looking for you." X.A.N.A. said. "You've given me quite a hassle. Deactivating all my towers which I worked so hard to activate. And now you've stolen my data. I've come to take you into the data sea. Come now Tanaka. It's time."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Really X.A.N.A.! You really think I'm gonna just come along with you?" Tanaka said boldly.

"You have no choice, if you value your friend's life." He replied.

"TANAKA!" cried a familiar voice from a viewport in the side of the tower.

"LARI!" Tanaka screamed. "No, that's not Lari. I tied my card to her DNA code. I know when she is in danger. She's off fighting Bombs in the Astral region. I've tied myself to all my friends, both Lyoko West, and Lyoko East. You've been outsmarted yet again X.A.N.A. The only way you're gonna get me to come with you is by kicking my ass, which is not gonna happen. Let's go you virtual coward. Come and see if you can beat the Sons of Plunder!" Tanaka said as he began to glow black. Several blobs of material just as dark emerged from the floor of the tower, taking the shape of Tanaka.

"Sons of Plunder? Really boy. You are nothing compared to me!" the virtual tyrant yelled, calling up many more copies of himself. "I'll be seeing you as random pieces of stubborn code!"

"NOT EVEN WHEN HELL FREEZES OVER!" the Sons of Plunder yelled at once, drawing their scimitars. The real Tanaka's mind raced back through his memory…

"_Until we're found…" Lari said sorrowfully._

_"We fight unbound" Tanaka finished…_

"FOR YOU LARI!" He called out, the other Sons of Plunder standing back. They slowly dissipated, almost like they were just a show. Tanaka's scimitars slashed through so much virtual flesh in the next three seconds that the blades would have been a solid blood red in reality. Tanaka's hands could not even be seen to any other warrior. Aelita, watching through a visual from Tanaka, was amazed. She knew then, that they had won this war.

"Grah?" the real X.A.N.A. cried out as he felt the bite of a scimitar. _Impossible! I'm not even there!_ He thought in his deepest programming. Being an AI, he was able to instantly retrieve any information he wanted on the internet, or any other electronic source of data. He searched desperately for something about the way Tanaka fought, but he found nothing. Not even the most experienced hacker would, for the information was simply not there. This was Tanaka's personal style, one no one had seen before. "WE WILL MEET AGAIN!" came the virtual scream as the clone disappeared.

"Yes, I will make sure we do." Tanaka said to himself more then to X.A.N.A. He went back to the upper level and set the program to automatically create one thousand soldiers of each kind, all to every single entrance to Terathea. "I hope you'll be ready. I'm bringing everything I've got to take you down."

"Tanaka! The Astral region is clear!" Lari said through their connection.

"Good. Get ready to go to Terathea. This may feel strange, I'm altering your Virtualization card. You'll feel like you're being stretched. I'll be waiting for you guys there. The Dweller out." He said, smiling warmly. _At last, it's all over. Now I'll be able to take my attention and put it towards getting Lari with me._


	12. XANA's Assault ALT

A/N: The next two chapters will be alternate storylines to the X.A.N.A.'s assault and Tanaka's Sacrifice chapters. I've been feeling a bit down so… Yeah.

The Lyoko warriors all met up in the Church. "Oh my fucking god! 100 towers in different regions and a huge upsurge of monster activity! I was hoping I wouldn't have to show you guys this yet." Tanaka yelled.

"What is this? Even I don't understand this program." Aelita said, puzzled.

"This is the program X.A.N.A. uses to create and transport his monsters. I'll need to activate a tower in order to enter the program in. I'll need you guys to follow me into Lyoko and protect the tower. Lyoko West will protect the exterior of the tower, and Lyoko East, with the exception of Aelita, will protect the interior from X.A.N.A." Tanaka explained grimly.

"Tanaka, you know what will happen if you use those codes! We need you!" Lari yelled, worry sounding in her voice for the first time.

'I know, but it must be done. Only Aelita and I can enter the codes, and Aelita possesses the Keys. I cannot allow her to sacrifice herself and give X.A.N.A. his victory. I'm his target anyway. Aelita: stay here and virtualize us into the Broken region." Tanaka instructed as he changed his Virtualization Card.

"Tanaka, what'll happen to you once you use those codes?" Odd said fearfully.

"I'll become part of Lyoko itself. Just like Franz Hopper/Halker (I forget which one it was). I'll still help you guys out as much as I can. Before I go, can I talk with you alone Lari?" Tanaka explained, his face getting darker and darker.

"Sure, I guess." Lari said in a strained voice. They left for the room where the main switch was located.

"Lari, I just wanted to say that, after all of the bullshit that's happened between us, I will always Love you. I'm so sorry for getting you into all this. If, if something goes wrong, I'll, I'll…" Tanaka's voice cracked. "I'll die." He added softly. "I'm scared Lari. For the first time regarding Lyoko, I'm scared."

"Tanaka, you know that's where the problem between us is. I'm going out with Derat. Thanks nonetheless though." Lari replied. She walked into the elevator and waited for everyone else. She didn't see the silent tear forming in Tanaka's eye, everyone else did.

Wiping it off, he joined everyone in the scanner room, and took his last few steps in reality with a shattered heart.

A/N: Like I said, I haven't had the best vacation.


	13. Tanaka's Sacrifice ALT

A/N: This is the second alternate chapter.

_How can she possibly like Derat? He's an beyond belief! He treats her like ! What the ! What can she possible see in him? Even Kristin thinks he's a danger to everyone who goes out with him! And she's even more messed up!_

"Transfer: Tanaka, transfer: Lari, transfer: Kimi, transfer: Kristin, transfer: Locata, transfer: Raylon. Scanner: Lyoko West. sigh Good luck guys." Aelita said sorrowfully, She was the only one to look into Tanaka's eyes when he was in the elevator. She alone knew how sad he was to hear what he did.

"Alright Aelita, we're in." Lari said, her voice sounding like nothing at all had happened.

_How can she sound like that? Does she not care?_ Aelita thought. She saw a thousand windows come up on the screen, each describing different horrors even X.A.N.A couldn't possible come up with. _They all look so sad, but at the same time, so mad too. Is this what Tanaka's really feeling?_

Meanwhile..

Tanaka and Lyoko East gathered on the first floor of the tower. "Alright, X.A.N.A. knows we're here. He'll be coming himself. I need you to delay him as long as you can." Tanaka said, his voice cold and harsh, quite unlike the Tanaka they knew. Both Ulrich and Yumi noticed, but Odd hadn't even paid attention.

"Protect you, I got it. Just like in our Lyoko." He said quickly, noticing Tanaka's expression. "What?"

Everyone shares a halfhearted laugh. "I've got a lot of work to do so I'm outta here." Tanaka said, glad to be alone.

"Ulrich, you did hear what Lari said to Tanaka right?" Yumi said, taking out both fans. She noticed that they weren't fans anymore, but chackrams twice the size of her old fans, but the same virtual weight.

"Yeah. I've gotta admit, that was pretty harsh. Tanaka really likes her too." He replied, drawing his new katana.

"I wish I could see if he's alright." Yumi said.

"After. X.A.N.A.'s on his way." Tanaka's voice sounded from all around them. "But, thanks for your concern Yumi." _Now if only she could help…_ he thought, unaware that his surface thoughts and speech were being broadcast throughout all of Lyoko.

"Was he **that** hurt? Seriously!" Lari said outside. The only reply she got was a round of angered glares.

"Are you **that** heartless Lari?" Kimi yelled angrily. "He doesn't just like you, he loves you! Haven't you figured that out **yet**?"" she added, turning angrily. Everyone takes a step away from her.

"Uh, Kimi, why are you saying that? I know that he loves me, but I don't even like him back. There's not much I can do." Lari said defensively.

"No, there's not much you **want** to do Lari. You give a damn. After this you need to apologize to Tanaka." Kristin said, turning her back to Lari. It seemed like everyone but Locata was pissed off at her.

"If Tanaka can't take rejection then he's gonna have a really hard time going through life. It's best if he gets used to it now." He said, siding with Lari.

"Shut up Locata, you're just as bad!" The entire group, excluding Lari, shouted.

"Here come X.A.N.A.'s entourage guys! I'm sending the first battalion of my own creations." Tanaka's voice sounded again. "And don't blame Lari, Locata's right. I have to used to this, no matter hard it is. And I promised I wouldn't let my feelings get in between our friendship, or her life. Get ready." It added glumly.


	14. The War for Lyoko ALT

A/N: I'm gonna change my writing style for this chapter. In your reviews, could you guys say if you like this one better or if I should stick with my old style?

_My heart throbs with barely withstood agony, my eyes burn with sorrow beyond what most could hide. Masked in anger and lack of sleep, my soul becomes hard and cold as steel. All that has happened has permanently changed me, for better or worse, I don't know. How the Hell should I know? I'm no damning psychic! X.A.N.A. was the first to decide to piss me off, and now, he'll feel my pain a thousand times over!_ Tanaka thought angrily, channeling all of his pent up rage and hatred, but even more fueling was his sorrow. Watching silently as the enemy army closed in slowly, another X.A.N.A. clone taking point position, Tanaka's eyes turned to a deep, endless black. "Guys, get out of here. Go to the activated towers, I'll hold them off as long as I can. I'm the only one ho can do this so you might as well save our world before too many die of whatever cause X.A.N.A. has thought up this time. Hurry up! And Lari. Ich leibe du, errenierrst das."

"We can't just leave you here Tanaka!" Kimi yelled loudly.

"You've been a great friend to us all. We will fight by your side, with or without your consent." Ulrich said firmly.

"Thanks guys, but our world is more important then my safety. Besides, it's not like I'm without backup." Tanaka said firmly, gesturing to the immense army behind him. "Go and deactivate the towers. I'll be able to send fairly small squads with you. Good luck guys."

The showdown came to the initial standoff, both armies facing each other, trying to intimidate one another. Useless as it was, seeing all soldiers were virtual and could not feel fear, it was a necessary protocol of war that was programmed into X.A.N.A. when he was first created. For several agonizingly long moments they stood like this, the best example of the phrase 'the calm before the storm.'

With an eruption of cries of pure anger, the Lyoko army of horrors came to the height of their show, weapons all held high, bows nocked and pulled back, rifles loaded and ready to fire, and muscles tensing in anticipation. The tension didn't seem to reach Tanaka, for he was simply standing there in his dark armor, smiling like a villain who had finally gotten his way. He was about to vent so much of his anger and hatred and pain that he was already gathering it into his heart. His grip on his swords strengthened to the point where, if he was in the real world, the hilts would have been crushed. His head lowered slowly, as if he was giving his respects to the dead. A single, blood red tear fell from his eyes as his head shot upward, and his army burst forth from their positions, still organized even as they met the enemy's front lines. Arrows whistled through the air, the clashing of virtual steel on virtual steel ringing across the broken plain. "And so, the Dragons of Sorrow take back what is theirs." Tanaka said as he walked calmly into the fray.

"I'm in the Forest region!" Lari exclaimed after killing the bomb that awaited her. She knew, somehow, that it was there and ready to fire as soon as she came out. She found a motorcycle waiting for her, preprogrammed to take her to the activated tower, turrets taking out any pursuers. Her thought wandered, from the danger her world was in, to the extent of the damage she must have done to Tanaka for his immense imagination to have come up with those horrors he calls soldiers. Climbing on, a strange barrier swung around her to protect her from the turret's fire.

"I've arrived in the Glacier region!" Odd said as he walked out of the tower. He saw a bomb turning around so he dived behind a nearby rock.

"You've now got an infinite amount of arrows so don't worry about wasting them!" Tanaka's clone said over the comm. The rock shook and cracked, and with another red blast from the bomb, collapsed into dust.

"Cool! That got really annoying, thanks for getting rid of it!" Odd said, sending five arrows into the bomb's insignia.

"Meadow region secure!" Ulrich called out from the inside of the Meadow tower. "Wasn't too much trouble getting here. Just a bomb and a few hornets and krabs." He added, walking out.

"Good. Why don't you go help Yumi out? There's two towers in her region and she's gonna have to fight three bombs to get to the second. She's in the largest tower in the Mountain region. It's a newly created tower on the summit." Tanaka's clone instructed, showing him a visual of Yumi's current location.

"Alright Tanaka." Ulrich said, departing right after those two words. _I almost said 'Alright sir." Why?_ He thought as he passed through the datastream. _He seemed almost like someone I should say that too, like a higher-ranked military guy or something._ He felt hard ground underneath his feet, and found that it was cold. He looked around and saw that he was in the scanner room! The scanner had locked behind him.

"Tower's on our side now Tanaka! I'm coming back to you!" Kim called out, jumping off the side of the tower's landing. She too, woke up outside of a locked scanner in the real world.

"Forest region secure, falling back to your position." Lari said, falling over the ledge inside the tower. She was the third to awaken in the real world. "What's going on? Did X.A.N.A. do something to the towers?" she queried, finding Ulrich and Kimi at the terminal.

"No, the history says that Tanaka modified the transport program. I have no idea what the rest means, but I think this is his doing. It says remote access and I know that means Aelita didn't change the program." Ulrich replied, calm and collected as usual. The elevator came down again, and the other Lyoko warriors walked out, all but Tanaka.


	15. The Battle for Section 5

A/N: I figured I'd follow the alternate chapters, since it'll be a more interesting story to write. For me at least.

"On my way to the transit site, after this feeling goes away at least." Lari said, cringing.

"I take it the changes are in effect?" Tanaka queried, sending his own pulsations out through Lyoko.

"Evidently. Alright, on my way to the transit. What about the others?" Lari asked, her eyes darting around for monsters. Spotting one, she crouched behind a nearby rock.

"Try out your newest ability. You should be able to modify the Lyoko terrain, just like Aelita. Act like Yumi when she does the whole telekinesis bit, only visualize the terrain moving in the way you want it to move." Tanaka said, engaging more enemies. "Just be careful when X.A.N.A. sends his newest creations. We don't know what they can do yet."

"If you say so Tanaka. You know I can take care of myself so I don't know why you're telling me to be careful." Lari replied anxiously. "Are there that many adversaries?"

"You'll be surprised. I'm sending another contingent your way." Tanaka said as a black vortex opened up next to Lari. "It's a small one, only four members. However, you'll find that they are far more suited to this kind of combat then any of my other creations. Have fun." He added, almost coldly.

_Perhaps I did hurt him as much as the others seem to think. This is going to take a while to sort out. Later though, I need to survive in order to sort this out after all._ Lari thought, watching her new comrades prepare their weapons. One wielding twin, tri-bladed axes decorated with intricate carvings, the inscriptions on the blades made of pure gold. Another brandished a wave-bladed greatsword, the hilt covered in black leather. The third was an accomplished archer, currently stringing his ornate longbow. Twin knives rested in their sheaths at his hips. The last one, the leader by the amulet the person wore, was checking all the hidden knives on the coat's chest, stomach, legs, shoulders, arms, and back. Tied to the side of the coat, a long halberd rested, ready and waiting for blood to drink. "Your orders, milady?" the director said, fastening the long coat.

"Spread out, I want one person at each entry. Do not let even one creature pass. Do you hear me boys?" Lari commanded, pointing out the entries they would need to cover.

"Who said we were all men?" The leader called out, throwing back the coat's hood to reveal the face of a young woman, eyes full of vengeance. "We'll cover those entryways Lari, but we won't aid you in covering yours."

"I am your superior, you do as I say." Came the obviously agitated response.

"You are neither superior nor inferior to any warrior or warrioress here. We all take orders from one person: Tanaka. Until our orders say to listen to you beyond what we choose to, we will act of our own accord. Clear milady?" she replied viciously. With a harsh glare, she put her hood on and went for the far left entrance, where the enemy artillery was coming.

"Sorry about her, she's a little pissed off and none of us know why." The marksman said before the rest of the company spread out among the cliff walls.

Tanaka sat on top of the tower, his eyes closed and burning, his muscles clenched and stinging. His mind whirled through his last conversation in the real world, and the pain it had brought had only increased, either giving credit to the saying "You have to get worse to get better", or discrediting the saying "Time heals all wounds." Standing up quickly, he readied his newest weapons, the tonfa he designed himself, and leaped off the tower, right into battle.

His arms and wrists working in complete independence and harmony, his legs moving and pumping with agility and strength, the young warrior, now devoid of any fear of death, fought with his life and heart for the first, and most likely last, time in his life. _No matter what she feels or doesn't feel towards me, she is still my friend, as are they all! I cannot allow them to get hurt, and they will surely die if they try to hold off all these creatures. My army and their strengths are not enough to defeat X.A.N.A., I too, must join the fight to save my friends from as much harm as I can. Insensitive assholes many of them may be, they are still my FRIENDS! _His thoughts screamed out, a dark nova pulsing out from his heart, taking down many creatures, as well as the way back to any tower. "Well X.A.N.A.! You wanted to fight me, now you've got your wish!" Tanaka yelled out, running forward to engage more foes. His tonfa span and whirled, his body darting this way and that, each new movement making a new corpse, each new corpse taking up more of X.A.N.A.'s CPU power. Pretty soon, the corpses were so many that their living counterparts began to slow, their movements becoming more choppy. "Looks like you're reaching your limits X.A.N.A., while I've got a long ways to go!" he yelled, taunting X.A.N.A. to delete his warriors and come himself. "COME ON! You can't let a human beat you at your most powerful time! Come on X.A.N.A.! Free up some CPU and come get me YOURSELF!" Tanaka added, more dark novas emitting from his body, vaporizing corpses all around him.

"You want death so badly, don't you Tanaka? Especially after the deaths of all your friends!" an electronic-sounding voice echoed throughout the virtual desert.

"They are not dead you fool. Although both of us know how to hide our allies' energy signatures. I am not hiding mine." Tanaka replied, twirling his tonfa in his hands. "Come on out, show me what a computer can do in a close quarters rumble! Show me your own battle prowess X.A.N.A. You were holding yourself and your skill, back at the tower. Come. Take me down, after all, and you essentially win. Or is my face the one you hide from? All this time, I have hidden myself from my friends, living under a mask. Now, that mask comes undone!" he added, suddenly glowing a violent gold, red, blue, green, and black. His armor twisted, from the grim platemail it was, showing his sorrow and anger, to great, smooth, shining scales more magnificent then that of a gold dragon. His tonfa falling to the ground, Tanaka floated up into the air, propelled by energy that was off even X.A.N.A.'s scales.

"What are you? You cannot be human. Humans are weak, they give off such tiny energy signatures. You are not organic. What manner of AI are you?" X.A.N.A. said, now thoroughly confused.

Silent, Tanaka went through the transformation. The hood over his head disappeared, his long black hair falling downwards. His eyes returned to their original hues, the bright, soft blue eyes he had before his life turned to hell, combined with the steely strength that came from living through hell itself. Together, they created eyes of soft strength, slightly glowing with a blue inner light and the flame of life larger then any other. His tonfa, the blades now engraved, the engravings filled with strange blue and gold dust, the hilt now made of ebony wound with leather, the steel dark and mysterious, harder and sharper then any steel alloy known to man.

"You truly know nothing. For all the access you have to human knowledge, you still know nothing of the human heart and mind. The mind alone has limits to power, and the heart alone has limits to reasoning and sense. However, when both of these work in harmony, both for a common goal, they begin to work much like synced CPU's, much like your own. They both compliment each other, taking up what the other cannot take or use. This creates sort of sixth and seventh senses. The sixth a great understanding of not your surrounding terrain, but the energy surrounding you. The sunlight and moonlight. The charge of a coming thunderstorm, and the serenity of the afterstorm when the clouds clear. The peace of the night where dreams show our heart's thoughts, and the clamor of the day where we live our lives and our hearts gather energy for the coming night.

"Not that you know of this, for you only know of the power of the electricity and other mechanical energy sources that pour into your CPU's and motherboards and hard drives. You, who has been, if I am not mistaken, human at one time, you who have long forgotten what it was like to feel the warm sun on your back, smell the sweet night air, feel the energy in the air as a storm approaches. You who think that, because you cannot feel these things anymore, and you have forgotten what it was like, no one should be able to feel them! You who have slipped so far into your vengeance you can no longer remember even the love you have been SHOWN! YOU WHO HAVE EVEN SUCKED THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU THAT LOVE INTO HERE AND TORTURE HIM EVERY DAY! YOU WHO TRY TO DESTROY YOUR OWN DAUGHTER! YOU WERE ORGANIC, NOW YOU ARE NOTHING! JUST A LARGE COLLECTION OF TINY BITS OF ELECTRICITY FLOWING THROUGH MASSIVE ARRAYS OF CPU'S AND MOTHERBOARDS AND ALL OTHER MANNER OF COMPUTING PARTS! **YOU WHO HAVE TRIED TO DESTROY IT ALL!**" Tanaka screamed, revealing X.A.N.A.'s true identity as the mother of Aelita, who was even named after herself, the wife of Franz Hopper.

"Aelita Hopper! I will not give your daughter the sorrow of finding out what you have become. You, who has died and was scanned and virtualized into this world as you died, essentially becoming this world. You may not be able to be physically killed, but soon, you will go to your eternal rest, knowing that your daughter is free from your grasp, and relatively undamaged from what you have done to her. For fifty years you have lived beyond your time. Now, your decomposing soul, rendered senseless by the electronics that suspend your death, will be released. I don't care if I have to take your place. Goodbye, X.A.N.A." Tanaka called out, pulling X.A.N.A. from her hiding place deep within Section 5.

"Goodbye, and goodnight." Were the last things that were said before both readied their weapons. Curiously enough, both said the same at the same time. All of Tanaka's and X.A.N.A.'s armies looked towards the battle taking place in the sky far above the desert plane, suspended on a floor of pure red light, characteristic not only of X.A.N.A., but of Tanaka as well. Even the Lyoko Warriors stopped to gaze up at the sky, watching the two titans stare each other off, fighting with eyes while their virtual bodies moved into their stances, Tanaka's tonfa in his hands, the blades ready under his forearms, X.A.N.A.'s double bladed katana out in front of him, all weapons ready for their final battles.

A/N I realize it's been a very, very long time since I've updated, and I apologize. It's not that I've been busy, but I still haven't been able to write. It's not that I had writer's block or anything, it's just that I couldn't write anything that I would accept. And yes, this story does seem to be a bit short. Well, at least it was a sort of long chapter… And a good one too. Gotta say, this is the best chapter of anything I've written, by my own thinking. I'll try to update soon, I know, huge cliffy!


	16. The Duel

A/N Hey everyone. I'm back, for now. Life's getting quite hectic right now, so I might not be able to update anywhere near as often as I said. I'll try, though it'll be kinda hard to write stuff. And if any of you like Cradle of Filth, one of their songs will be on later.

No words were said. No other weapons clashed together. Not even a gasp could be heard as the combatant's virtual muscles tensed with the coming of battle. The very virtual air seemed as if it, too, stood still. Waiting for the coming battle. The armies, both of infinite size, gazed upwards at the meeting of both their leader, and that of their enemy. The virtual, electronic demigod and the organic, infuriated warrior both had their weapons in hand, both at their prime, and both concentrating on only the coming combat between each other. The demigod's blades ready in his hands, the warrior's tonfa spinning just below his forearms.

A bright light erupted from the eight other great warriors, each of different colors. They soared into the air, only to stop and hover forty feet away from the duel ring, constructed of pure strands of red and golden light weaving together. Tanaka, the Warrior of Earth, took the first move. With a single twitch of a muscle he shot forward, tonfa whirling and singing as they cut the very air between them and their adversaries: X.A.N.A.'s, the Demigod of Lyoko's swords. Both tonfa, with their own personalities, yearned for the destruction of their fallen brethren.

X.A.N.A. reacted with a simple yet efficient parry, his left blade pushing aside the spinning tonfa and his right going for Tanaka's neck. A tonfa flew upwards, completely leaving the Warrior's hand, the sheer momentum of the throw blasting the blade out of the Demigod's hand. Leaping back, both combatants never even realized that they had only one weapon. Only that their opponent had but one.

With another twitch of virtual muscle, both fighters lunged at the other, tonfa singing and blade screaming. In the middle of their charge, they both caught the other's missing weapon. Fighting with a straight-edged sword and a tonfa both, twirling and slashing, whirling and thrusting, leaping and parrying each blow the other threw at him, the soldiers fought. Tanaka moving gracefully and quickly, using his agility and dexterity to his advantage, X.A.N.A. moving with deliberation and strength, using his superhuman strength and weight adjustments to his weapons to overpower the comparatively little human.

With another explosive deadlock, the combatants leaped away. X.A.N.A.'s sword resting heavily in Tanaka's hand, Tanaka's tonfa shaking with the intense grip X.A.N.A. was used to using with his blade. X.A.N.A. was the first to move this time, running forwards, the tonfa held like a sword. Tanaka stood still, acting upon his nickname, the Silent Guardian. Mere moments before X.A.N.A.'s assault would have utterly destroyed him, Tanaka's form became as insubstantial as mist.

As X.A.N.A. regained his balance, Tanaka reappeared on the side X.A.N.A. started on. As Tanaka lowered into his own personal style, his tonfa and X.A.N.A.'s sword on the ground, a strange music wove itself about the air, filling the young warrior's mind, soothing it, relaxing it so that his heart could take over.

"Castlevania…" The irritable warrioress that Lari infuriated whispered in awe. "Cradle of Filth's Castlevania…"

Tanaka charged, his toes the only things touching the ground. His left hand, out in front of him, was palm out and open, but fingers together. His right hand, closer to his chest like the fists of a boxer, closed and clenched in a tight fist. X.A.N.A. tried to meet the young man head on, only to watch his weapons bashed out of his hands and the bones in his stomach and chest get shattered completely as the fists hammered into the electronic demigod. Leaping backwards, X.A.N.A. went right over the edge, the furious Tanaka falling right behind, his hands just barely out of reach of X.A.N.A.'s feet.

Embracing cowardice, X.A.N.A. formed himself wings, flying off to the distance. Not able to spare the CPU power, his army was deleted. Tanaka, his mind returning as the song finished, noticed that he was falling from a great height. "Shit. GRATHET!" he yelled as he plunged towards the hard, unforgiving ground below. A few seconds away from the ground, a great winged beast swooped down, Tanaka landing on it's soft stomach feathers. Guiding him down, Grathet dropped the warrior under the floating disc where he fought with his heart for the first time. Exhausted, Tanaka was instantly returned to the active tower, and passed out, his body fading extremely slowly.


End file.
